Essential bridalwear tips for large busted brides
If you’re a bride who is blessed with a larger bust, you may be daunted by the prospect of bridalwear shopping. How to find the perfect wedding dress that will accommodate, support and flatter your glorious assets, without incurring costly alterations?
These tips have all the answers, so read on!
How to Carry a Large Bust
A proud bosom should be worn with pride and sophistication, not crammed shamefully into the wrong style wedding dress. We know that if you force flesh into one spot, it will bulge out into a weird shape elsewhere. Ladies, we need to take the control back!
Foundation garments take the strain
If you can boast a cup size C or above, and are not choosing a bespoke wedding gown, you absolutely should wear a foundation garment! They come in a variety of styles – plunge neck, strapless, low back etc and have been manufactured especially for brides. As such, they will support you securely during the course of your day, saving much wear and tear on your delicate gown. You want to look classy and composed. With a well-fitting bust support, your girls will remain in place, no matter how you dance, embrace, bend, lean forward etc…
Lack of adequate foundation support, will result in heavy breasts forcing a strapless dress down. Consequently, you will need to keep hoiking your poor gown up all day. Needless to say this doesn’t look elegant. Your foundation garment can be anchored into your gown if you wish.
Feel free to speak to me about getting the right one for your bridalwear situation
Choose the Right Dress Size for your Bust!
Go for a size that accommodates the largest part of your body, especially if that part is your bust! It is much easier (and therefore less expensive) to take in at the waist and hips than let out to accommodate busts. The contours of a well endowed bosom are essential to the overall look of the gown, which are usually well shaped in production. As such, a bridal seamstress will prefer to avoid letting out in the bust seam and disturbing the line. They will undoubtedly be skilled enough to do so, but it will reflect in the alteration cost for you.
Photo by Houcine Ncib on Unsplash
Where Standardised Sizing and Mass Production Lets You Down (again)!
Just because a wedding dress is available in a bigger size, doesn’t always mean the design is suitable for a bigger size. Quite often, dresses originally designed for a small sample size lack the more robust construction methods and materials required for larger, heavier bosoms. Over the past couple of years, I have had to reconstruct and reinforce cup sizes D versions (and over), of dresses that have really only been engineered for up to B cups. Some of these styles simply should not be produced as they are in these more buxom sizes! It’s misleading and unfair to brides.
Consider the materials
Illusion bodices are made with flimsy mesh and very bendy clear boning, neither of which is capable of holding the body in, let alone up. Their purpose is principally to give shape to the soft mesh and resemble a corset. Don’t be fooled – Just because a bodice has boning, does not mean that it will function as a corset that will snatch your waist and thrust your boobs skywards.
These flimsy, soft plastic bones warm and shape to the body they adorn, rather than maintaining their own rigid integrity, so you may well find that the dress feels looser and less supportive as your wedding day progresses.
The weight of the breasts may even bend the bones under the bust, causing the neckline to gape.
If you have a larger chest, but love the illusion look, speak to your bridal seamstress about lining the dress with an opaque fabric to match your skin tone. This will conceal your supportive foundation garment.
Cupped dresses
A correctly fitting cup will hold firmly to your rib cage, framing the underside of your breast. I have seen quite a few this year where the cups have skated on top of a large breast, like a saucer. This doesn’t look great and will be very costly to alter, as the entire cup will have to be removed, reshaped, remade in matching fabric and replaced.
The cups supplied in wedding dresses seldom offer any support; they are inserted to hold the shape of the dress externally. For a bust cup to truly hold your girls, they need to be under wired or at very least held fast to the under band level, like a bra. The under band level is typically the lowest the back of the dress should be.
If you expect the dress to do all the work, you will end up tightening the waist and under-bust uncomfortably, making sitting, breathing and eating a challenge. This may also result in the fleshier parts of your back to over-spill the top of your dress. A low backed foundation corset will take this strain, so that the dress doesn’t bite into the flesh in an unsightly way and the dress can then be free to kiss your body elegantly at the top edge.
Remember that if the dress is fighting the oppositional force of a full bosom, the strain will compromise the zip strength. The zip should more or less meet without any effort. If you have to force the edges closed then you can be sure that movement across your back will be restricted and there will be flesh overhang. You’re also running the risk of zip breakage on the day. It’s just science!
Some of the Ways I have Helped my Busty Brides
: added additional boning strips : added an internal corset, which perches snugly on the waist, to bear some of the weight of the bust) : added panels in sympathy with the design and fabrics of the wedding dress : changed a zip back to a corset back – added straps to bear some of the weight -recommended stick on bra solutions :my top tip: Added a good quality foundation garment
Or there's the Easy Way...
If you go wedding dress shopping armed with all of this knowledge and your foundation garment (have I mentioned that already?), you are more likely to choose your style more wisely, have realistic expectations and minimise costly alterations bills.
Your other option is to have your dream wedding gown expertly designed and created specifically to meet your body’s needs. This will ensure that your bust is framed and supported in a flattering way. No hoiking, no avoiding the dancing. As my bride Lucy can attest:
If you are worried that you might have some fitting issues or that standard sized wedding gowns may fail you, contact me. I will support you.
“…it was immaculately constructed and passed the ceilidh/90s clubbing test with flying colours.
Lots of people commented on how beautiful and well-made it was on the day and how I hadn’t had to hoik it up a single time – a mark of an impeccable seamstress…”
If you are worried that you might have some fitting issues or that standard sized wedding gowns may fail you, contact me. Alternatively, you can book an alterations consultation with me here. I will support you.
For more bridalwear shopping tips, head over to How to go Wedding Dress Shopping like a boss! Caroline Versallion Bridal Couture, Bedfordshire
More on Bridal alterations: What You Need To Know About Wedding Dress Alterations! – Caroline Versallion Bridal Couture, Bedfordshire
The Bespoke Experience: Custom made wedding dress service | Bedfordshire – Caroline Versallion Bridal Couture, Bedfordshire
Photo Credits
If you're a bride who is blessed with a larger bust, you may be daunted by the prospect of bridalwear shopping. How to find the perfect wedding dress that will accommodate, support and flatter your glorious assets, without incurring costly alterations?These tips have all the answers, so read on!
How to Carry a Large Bust
A proud bosom should be worn with pride and sophistication, not crammed shamefully into the wrong style wedding dress. We know that if you force flesh into one spot, it will bulge out into a weird shape elsewhere. Ladies, we need to take the control back!
Foundation garments take the strain
If you can boast a cup size C or above, and are not choosing a bespoke wedding gown, you absolutely should wear a foundation garment! They come in a variety of styles – plunge neck, strapless, low back etc and have been manufactured especially for brides. As such, they will support you securely during the course of your day, saving much wear and tear on your delicate gown. You want to look classy and composed. With a well-fitting bust support, your girls will remain in place, no matter how you dance, embrace, bend, lean forward etc…
Lack of adequate foundation support, will result in heavy breasts forcing a strapless dress down. Consequently, you will need to keep hoiking your poor gown up all day. Needless to say this doesn’t look elegant. Your foundation garment can be anchored into your gown if you wish.
Feel free to speak to me about getting the right one for your bridalwear situation
Choose the Right Dress Size for your Bust!
Go for a size that accommodates the largest part of your body, especially if that part is your bust! It is much easier (and therefore less expensive) to take in at the waist and hips than let out to accommodate busts. The contours of a well endowed bosom are essential to the overall look of the gown, which are usually well shaped in production. As such, a bridal seamstress will prefer to avoid letting out in the bust seam and disturbing the line. They will undoubtedly be skilled enough to do so, but it will reflect in the alteration cost for you.
Where Standardised Sizing and Mass Production Lets You Down (again)!
Just because a wedding dress is available in a bigger size, doesn’t always mean the design is suitable for a bigger size. Quite often, dresses originally designed for a small sample size lack the more robust construction methods and materials required for larger, heavier bosoms. Over the past couple of years, I have had to reconstruct and reinforce cup sizes D versions (and over), of dresses that have really only been engineered for up to B cups. Some of these styles simply should not be produced as they are in these more buxom sizes! It’s misleading and unfair to brides.
Consider the materials
Illusion bodices are made with flimsy mesh and very bendy clear boning, neither of which is capable of holding the body in, let alone up. Their purpose is principally to give shape to the soft mesh and resemble a corset. Don’t be fooled – Just because a bodice has boning, does not mean that it will function as a corset that will snatch your waist and thrust your boobs skywards.
These flimsy, soft plastic bones warm and shape to the body they adorn, rather than maintaining their own rigid integrity, so you may well find that the dress feels looser and less supportive as your wedding day progresses.
The weight of the breasts may even bend the bones under the bust, causing the neckline to gape.
If you have a larger chest, but love the illusion look, speak to your bridal seamstress about lining the dress with an opaque fabric to match your skin tone. This will conceal your supportive foundation garment.
Cupped dresses
A correctly fitting cup will hold firmly to your rib cage, framing the underside of your breast. I have seen quite a few this year where the cups have skated on top of a large breast, like a saucer. This doesn’t look great and will be very costly to alter, as the entire cup will have to be removed, reshaped, remade in matching fabric and replaced.
The cups supplied in wedding dresses seldom offer any support; they are inserted to hold the shape of the dress externally. For a bust cup to truly hold your girls, they need to be under wired or at very least held fast to the under band level, like a bra. The under band level is typically the lowest the back of the dress should be.
Forces are at play!
If you expect the dress to do all the work, you will end up tightening the waist and under-bust uncomfortably, making sitting, breathing and eating a challenge. This may also result in the fleshier parts of your back to over-spill the top of your dress. A low backed foundation corset will take this strain, so that the dress doesn’t bite into the flesh in an unsightly way and the dress can then be free to kiss your body elegantly at the top edge.
Remember that if the dress is fighting the oppositional force of a full bosom, the strain will compromise the zip strength. The zip should more or less meet without any effort. If you have to force the edges closed then you can be sure that movement across your back will be restricted and there will be flesh overhang. You’re also running the risk of zip breakage on the day. It’s just science!
Some of the Ways I have Helped my Busty Brides
: added additional boning strips : added an internal corset, which perches snugly on the waist, to bear some of the weight of the bust) : added panels in sympathy with the design and fabrics of the wedding dress : changed a zip back to a corset back – added straps to bear some of the weight -recommended stick on bra solutions :my top tip: Added a good quality foundation garment
Or there's the Easy Way...
If you go wedding dress shopping armed with all of this knowledge and your foundation garment (have I mentioned that already?), you are more likely to choose your style more wisely, have realistic expectations and minimise costly alterations bills.
Your other option is to have your dream wedding gown expertly designed and created specifically to meet your body’s needs. This will ensure that your bust is framed and supported in a flattering way. No hoiking, no avoiding the dancing. As my bride Lucy can attest:
“…it was immaculately constructed and passed the ceilidh/90s clubbing test with flying colours.
Lots of people commented on how beautiful and well-made it was on the day and how I hadn’t had to hoik it up a single time – a mark of an impeccable seamstress…”
If you are worried that you might have some fitting issues or that standard sized wedding gowns may fail you, contact me. I will support you.
For more bridalwear shopping tips, head over to How to go Wedding Dress Shopping like a boss! Caroline Versallion Bridal Couture, Bedfordshire
More on Bridal alterations: What You Need To Know About Wedding Dress Alterations! – Caroline Versallion Bridal Couture, Bedfordshire
The Bespoke Experience: Custom made wedding dress service | Bedfordshire – Caroline Versallion Bridal Couture, Bedfordshire
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